Ideally, the press and the journalists try to expose what is hidden beneath the rug. Not by peeping into individuals’ lives, for we are a billion people, but it happens particularly with whom we call celebrities. It is a cost to their celebrity-status that they have to undergo a scrutiny by the journalists. But at times, there are more to celebrities than a page-3 party. They get into controversies. The way media works; it ends up choosing its targets. The more interesting the enemy (the more articles can come up on the person), the better. When it comes to the case of the infamous painter MF Hussain Vs his controversial paintings, it was a case of MF Hussain Vs nascent Right-wing protestors, for the media. Who was to generate more news, buzz and gossip? It is an easy guess – the later. So it seems to me that the media chose its sides very smartly. MF Hussain became a hero, and his opponents – the Right-Wing ‘Saffron’ ‘Elements’ – became the villains. But, I think in the middle of this comfortable arrangement, bits of truth became victims.
I think not much analysis has been done on many aspects of the ‘MF Hussain Controversy’. His personal life has not been analyzed much – which could have given us some insights on the ways he chose. Demographic Profile – is what I mean. His decision to take up a Self-Imposed Exile was not evaluated enough with what could be the other possible reasons behind the decision to call it quits. I wished to research and write more on this, but I face a time constraint. But I read a very interesting piece by the fearless and reckless all-time famous journalist from India, Khushwant Singh. Let us read what he says here:
I got to know him during my stint in Bombay. He had already earned a name for himself as a modern artist and established a personal trade mark going bare-footed and carrying a two-yard long paint brush. He was a tall, well -built, handsome man with a beard. His infatuation for Bollywood stars, particularly Madhuri Dixit were bazaar gossip. By the time I got to know him, he was infatuated with Kamna Prasad. And she with him.
When he was invited to visit Pakistan, he persuaded Kamna to come with him. Once there he became very casual towards her. She cut short her visit and returned to Delhi. He sensed he had offended her and asked me to plead with her on his behalf to forgive him. He also added that he would dedicate his autobiography to her. No one knows how his family and six children took his philandering with women because they never spoke about it to outsiders.
I am not sure how many of you knew what Khushwant Singh revealed above. At least I didn’t read about this episode anywhere else. Since it’s coming from Khushwant Singh’s pen, I would assume it to be true.
Hint of another aspect behind him:
He fled the country and settled down in Qatar. By then each one of his paintings were fetching crores of rupees. He did not know what to do with money. He bought six expensive cars.
A man who doesn’t wear a shoe, needs to travel by six expensive cars, right?
What do these facts tell you? Doesn’t it give hint about a face of MF Hussain which most of us don’t know about? Has our media examined his other interests, except his flag-bearing act for the ‘right-of-expression’? Has our media showed us his sides where he is not having a ‘halo’ around his head? If not, then how are we expected to make an educated opinion?
